No. 305.
Mr. Evarts
to Mr. Lowell
.
Secretary’s offer as communicated to me by your telegram of 24th February was £15,000 for Fortune Bay and those mentioned in No. 109.
[Page 505]This I accepted by my telegram of February 25. This completed the subject, and the amount as definitely ascertained, and showed no indistinctness or discrepancy of views. All the previous communications either way related to Fortune Bay alone. My calculation of $80,000 was on computation of two-thirds aggregate of Fortune Bay claims. Claims of No. 109 were introduced specifically by secretary as additional to Fortune Bay, and I accepted the sum offered for both.
I cannot consent to any modification of the completed settlement of specific claims. I have at no time treated except of definite pecuniary interests of claimants in my charge. The agreed sum measures these claims and goes to these claimants. I have been willing to give every assurance to cover all claims brought to the knowledge of either government, and authorized you to inform secretary that as matter of fact no others were entertained by this government. All this was not part of the offer made and accepted, and came in as new matter afterwards.
You will explain to secretary the impossibility of my changing the subject of negotiation after an agreed valuation of that subject.
Should the offer be retracted after its acceptance or new conditions be imposed afterwards which would not have been entertained as an original subject, I must regret that the effort to remove a serious obstacle to friendly disposition of the fishery controversy should have in-Creased the difficulties which embarrass it.
If the money is paid under the assurance authorized by my last, telegraph me. If it is not, you may say to the secretary that this government will await his early attention to Nos. 109 and 110, which must stand unaffected by anything which has passed since.